People get crushed like biscuit crumbsAnd laid down in the bitumen.You have tried your best to please everyone.But it just isn't happening.No, it just isn't happening.

from Black Swan, Thom Yorke

Note: Perhaps of interest, the black swan theory is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. The term is based on an ancient saying which presumed that black swans did not exist, but the saying was rewritten after black swans were discovered in the wild. The theory was developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (Wikipedia) This is a book which has fascinated me for months now.

Today I have no preconceived plan for my blog. Probably because I slept well last night, so I didn't spend my slumber hours thinking as I sometimes do. So let's just see what unfolds and how we can connect the dots between the things we encounter...

I got up early, ran a few errands and came to the gallery to work a couple of hours before opening time, because it is quiet and raining. One of the places I went this morning was the post office to pick up a couple of packages. One of the packages was this book: The Art Spirit by Robert Henri.

I was drawn to the book because of the painting on the cover when I saw one of my fellow artists reading it at the gallery last week. Already, right after opening it for the first time, I am hooked when I read this:

"There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom. If one could but recall his vision by some sort of sign. It was in this hope that the arts were invented. Sign-posts on the way to what may be. Sign-posts toward greater knowledge."

​And as I am reading this, there is an art installation in the making that is hovering over my right shoulder. Hmmmmm.....

Having thought that I was not particularly familiar with the paintings of Robert Henri, I was surprised that I did indeed recognize a few of them. And though as an artist, I do experiment in a lot of genre's, I think of myself primarily as a portraitist, so I was definitely drawn to Henri's faces.

It is actually a source of constant surprise to me that I paint so many portraits, because I find them to be the most difficult thing to paint! I can definitely connect with this statement by Michael Jordan: "My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength."

With regard to Henri's portraits, I am in thrall with the looseness of his painting style and hope to impact my own work in this manner. For example, I started a portrait of JFK today. It is a commission which will be created from the text of Profiles In Courage and is based on this photograph.

Since my client wants it to be in black and white, I will not be experimenting with color, but the process of laying down text and painting over it will allow for a bit of play with value.

And since I am already cutting up the book, and since the next show at Gallery 211 is "All American," I have decided to create an additional painting of JFK. The second one will be in color. Here is an example of my last JFK portrait during its various stages of completion:
​

And since even this portrait is painted in black and white with the only color being in the background, I think I will try some of Henri's techniques and employ some unexpected colors in my new portrait.

A Confession

As the sometimes reluctant "teacher" of our Wednesday evening writing group, I am constantly issuing "challenges" to the participants. My confession is that I do not have a bag of tricks, a depository of proven tactics for getting my "students" to write. I just come up with ways to push their buttons. This is exactly what I do to myself when I am trying to get myself to write or make art. I push myself into areas of discomfort, innovation, surprise, familiarity--wherever I can think to push. I listen to all kinds of music, look at all kinds of art, read all kinds of books, cook foods I have never cooked before--anything I can think to do to push myself.

Today, while listening to Radiohead on Pandora (which is where the lines from Thom Yorke came from to start my blog today), I came across Telepopmusik. You are probably familiar with this song of theirs:

I looked at the paintings of Robert Henri, learned a little about the Ashcan School of Painting (Henri was considered by some to be the father of this movement, so you can click on his nude to learn more), looked at some art by Duane Keiser (which included watching a very cool three minute video of him painting the yolk breaking out of an egg), read several articles in Architectural Digest (I admit I mostly do this to look at the art on the walls...), got caught up in the writing of John F. Kennedy as I was cutting up Profiles in Courage (click on his book for excerpts from his library), and found a promising recipe for Low Carb Chicken Garam Masala (the recipe is linked to the photo).

It has yet to be determined how today's travels will impact my writing and my art... but they will.

And Finally, the Challenge

My way of challenging you today is to encourage you to just take some time and push yourself into experiencing things you probably would not experience. Do something that if others learned of it, would surprise them! Think things you have never thought before. Then write about them.​

I will close today with two things, and neither of them is a challenge, per se. First is a recording of Billie Holiday singing "The End of a Love Affair." If there is a challenge here, it is that the recording is almost ten minutes long. That is because, as Holiday gets going, it becomes clear that she is somewhat inebriated and having trouble staying in synch with the music. Apparently this was the last song of the day's session and she had been drinking a clear liquid all day, thought to be water, which was in actuality vodka. This album, which was re-released in 1997, is considered to be one of her best. I am not suggesting that her use of alcohol was the reason for the album's success. I find it to be amazing that she could function at all under the circumstances and I am enthralled by the music. You won't regret listening to it.

And the second item of closing is this lovely metaphor by Dwayne Johnson:

"I grew up where, when a door closed, a window didn't open. The only thing I had was cracks. I'd do everything to get through those cracks--scratch, claw, bite, push, bleed. Now the opportunity is here. The door is wide open, and it's as big as a garage."